Taylor Hearn Added a New Slider in the AFL With Some Help From Outside the Organization

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Arizona Fall League is a place where players can get additional experience against upper level talent. It's a showcase league, filled with some of the better upper level prospects around baseball, so it provides a better experience at times than a player would get in Double-A or Triple-A. Often, players are working on specific elements of their game, trying the new approaches out in this showcase league.

In some of those cases, the league presents an opportunity for players to get different opinions, and advice they wouldn't normally receive during the season. That was the case with Taylor Hearn and his slider.

Hearn had been working on finding a new breaking pitch during the season. He made the switch over the summer, getting a pitch that he could throw for str...

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Tim is the owner and editor in chief of Pirates Prospects. He started the site in January 2009, and turned it into his full time job during the 2011 season. Prior to starting Pirates Prospects, Tim worked with AccuScore.com, providing MLB, NHL, and NFL coverage to various national media outlets, including ESPN Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, and the Wall Street Journal. He also writes the annual Prospect Guide, which is sold through the site. Tim lives in Bradenton, where he provides live coverage all year of Spring Training, mini camp, instructs, the Bradenton Marauders, and the GCL Pirates.